Officer Elayne Franco, Logan City Police Department

The following nomination letter was written by Lieutenant Brad Franke of Logan:

Officer Franco is a first generation US citizen. Her family emigrated to the United States from Guatemala before she was born. Officer Franco was raised in the Logan area and made the decision to seek a career in Law Enforcement after talking to local officers and learning of ways she could help her community. After sponsoring herself through the Utah Police Academy, Officer Franco applied and competed against many other applicants to become a Law Enforcement Officer for her home community. Officer Franco speaks fluent English and Spanish
and takes great pride in her combined American/Latino heritage.

Officer Franco has served with Logan City for 2 1/2 years and very early in her career earned a reputation as a positive and energetic person who is highly respected by her coworkers, as well as anyone she comes in contact with. Her reputation though the department led her to be selected as a field training officer for new hire officers. Very early in her career she is
already using her skills and abilities to train the newest generations of officers.

Officer Franco has served as a liaison to the Hispanic community of Cache Valley by participating in a Spanish Radio program to help inform Spanish speaking people of Utah’s laws and helping to share crime prevention tips. Each week a specific topic was presented and then calls were taken from the public. This outreach by Officer Franco helped to share a positive message and answer questions to a some members of our community who otherwise would not feel comfortable interacting with an police officer.

Officer Franco has a heart and personality which causes her to serve everyone she comes in contact with. Recently she met with a local citizen at in a parking lot. This gentleman was with two small children and had left the residence he was staying after learning of ongoing drug use in the home. The man had very little money and found himself with nowhere to go for the weekend. After learning of the difficulties, and finding one of the children had physical special needs, Officer Franco transported this small family to a local motel and paid for a room with her own money. Officer Franco felt this man was trying to do the right thing for his children and she wanted to help support those decisions.

Officer Franco was recently recognized for her work in the new officer field training program and was also awarded as a Patrol Officer of the year for 2015 for our agency. She has the ability to be proactive and a statistical leader in productivity while constantly treating everyone with respect and kindness. A recent example of Officer Franco’s service was shown when she contacted a local citizen during a graveyard shift. After learning the man had warrants, Officer Franco treated him with patience and kindness while still performing her duties. She
took the extra time to help find a person to take custody of the offender’s bicycle so he could still have his only transportation after his release. Later this man took the time to write Office Franco a letter thanking her for treating him respectfully and for taking the time to help him make arraignments before going to jail. It is quite rare for an officer to receive a thank you letter after taking someone to jail.

Officer Franco is a truly rare and exceptional person. She has the ability to hold people accountable for their actions while maintaining a kindness and personal attention which shows everyone she interacts with how much she cares about them. She is an outstanding example to the employees of our agency and our entire community.